Sex crimes soar to record levels with average of 588 every day, while drug offences and shoplifting continue to rise in
Posted: Thu Feb 05, 2026 2:44 am
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... stats.html
The number of sex offences reported to police has jumped to a record high, official figures show.
There were 214,816 recorded sex crimes in the year to September, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed, up eight per cent year-on-year.
It included the highest-ever number of recorded rapes, with 74,265 - a seven per cent rise.
The total number of sex crimes was equivalent to 588 incidents every day.
In 2003 the figure stood at less than 57,000 reported sex crimes, and the continuing rise in offences has been put down to improved recording practices by police forces.
The ONS said the latest increase was also partly down to two new sexual offences relating to 'sending or sharing intimate photographs or films' which were brought in under the Online Safety Act in January 2024.
Cases of shoplifting reported to police climbed five per cent year-on-year to 519,381.